Exodus 1-3
Day 30: Exodus 1-3 Notes & Takeaways
Egyptian Hieroglyphics of The Tomb Chapel of ReKhmire. Note the slaves working and the Egyptian taskmaster in the middle yielding a rod.
CHAPTER 1
We begin the story of Exodus about 430 years from where Genesis ended. Joseph and his brothers have all died, along with the Pharaoh who knew them and gave them high standing in Egypt. Joseph was the great-grandson of Abraham, the one who brought them into Egypt in Genesis 47. The number of Israelites “were exceedingly fruitful; they multiplied greatly, increased in numbers and became so numerous that the land was filled with them” (Exodus 1:7).
“The Bible states that the number was " about six hundred thousand on foot that were men, beside children. And
a mixed multitude went up also with them. (Exodus xii, 37, 38.) Also," And Moses said, The people, among whom I am, are six hundred thousand footmen. (Num. xi, 21.) If to the 600,000 men, the women and children are added the total number of persons probably would be about two millions.” (Lucas, A)
A new king has come into power who knew nothing of Joseph. He was afraid that because the Israelites had become to numerous, war could break out and they could join forces with their enemies. Thus, they began to oppress them and put slave masters over them with forced labor. We don’t know exactly how many years they were enslaved out of the 430 years that have passed, but “Some estimate the slavery lasted 284 years, others 134 years” (Guzik).
The Pharaoh orders the Hebrew midwives Shiphrah and Puah to kill any male children born and to let the female children live. We can see satan’s plan through this evil act. In Gen 3:15 we saw the Protoevangelium, the first gospel/prophecy of the coming Messiah: the Seed of the Woman, the One who would crush satan’s head (Genesis 3:15). Perhaps satan thought that by killing the male children he could stop the prophecy from coming true. But, as we know that God can do all things; no purpose of His can be thwarted (Job 42:2). The Hebrew midwives do not obey because they fear God and so Pharaoh orders that “every Hebrew boy that is born would be thrown into the Nile” (Exodus 1:22).
CHAPTER 2
Now Amram and Jochebed, front the tribe of Levi, have a child (Exodus 2:1) The name of the parents are found in Exodus 6:20. Jochebed, the mother, hid the child out of faith in God. Hebrews 11:23 says, “By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’s command.”
The mother makes a waterproof basket for him and places the child in it. God was in control of this entire situation, because as we know, God is never taken by surprise, He is always in control. Therefore, he controlled the current, the waters, the direction in which the basket went, which was perfectly into the direction of where Pharaoh’s daughter bathed. Now, Egyptians grew up rejecting the Hebrews and so one would think that an Egyptian princess, finding a baby in the water would not be a good plan, but as the baby cried, Pharaoh’s daughter felt sorry for him and instead of giving it to be thrown into the Nile with all the other male children, she decided to keep the child. God had indeed touched her heart and was in total control of the situation. Miriam, Moses’ older sister was quick to suggest a Hebrew woman to nurse the baby, and when Pharaoh’s daughter accepted, the child’s own mom was able to take care of him! How amazing is our God?
Now, not only was Moses in the royal family of Egypt, the princess adopts him, and his birth mother was able to care for him and get paid for it, “No doubt it was in these early years that Moses learnt of the ‘God of the fathers’ (Exodus 3:15) and realized that the Hebrews were his fellow countrymen (Exodus 2:11).” (Cole)
At the age of 40 Moses kills an Egyptian (Acts 7:23) and when Pharaoh finds out he tries to have him killed, so Moses flees to Midian. This is where he meets Jethro, the priest of Midian. He marries his daughter Zipporah and Jethro becomes his father-in-law. Note that Moses’ wife is a Midianite. We first heard of Midian in Genesis 25. Midian was one of the sons of Abraham, from his wife Keturah, whom he wed after Sarah passed away. Midianites are descendants of Midian.
CHAPTER 3
Moses is now a shepherd, and has been for 40 years. He is in charge of Jethro’s flock and while at Horeb, the mountain of God, he sees a burning bush.
“Though the bush burned with fire, it did not crackle or diminish, no leaf curled and no branch charred. It burned, but was not consumed.” (Meyer)
As Moses approaches the angel of the LORD speaks to him in the flames within the bush (Exodus 3:2).
i. Undoubtedly, this is another occasion where Jesus appeared before His incarnation in the Old Testament as the Angel of the LORD, as He did many times (Genesis 16:7-13, Judges 2:1-5, Judges 6:11-24, Judges 13:3-22).
ii. We say this is God, in the Person of Jesus Christ, because of God the Father, it is said No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him (John 1:18), and that no man has ever seen God in the Person of the Father (1 Timothy 6:16). (Guzik)
He tells Moses that he has seen the misery of His people and He has “come down to rescue them and bring them to a land flowing with milk and honey— the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites” (Exodus 3:7-8).
Canaanites: The Canaanites are mentioned over 150 times in the Bible. They were a wicked, idolatrous people descended from Noah’s grandson Canaan, who was a son of Ham (Genesis 9:18). Canaan was cursed because of his and his father’s sin against Noah (Genesis 9:20–25).
Hittites: The Hittites are mentioned more than 50 times in the Bible. They were descended from Heth, the son of Canaan (and great-grandson of Noah, Genesis 10:15. Abraham bought the plot of land for Sarah’s burial site from Ephron the Hittite in Genesis 23.
Amorites: The Amorites were an ancient nation mentioned frequently in the Old Testament. They were descended from one of the sons of Canaan (Genesis 10:15–16).
Perizzites: The name Perizzites means “villagers” and denoted those who lived out in the open country. In Genesis 13:7, Abram’s and Lot’s herdsmen argued over the territory where the Perizzites were living. The land could not support both of their large flocks and herds, so Abram entreated Lot for a peaceful resolution. Lot chose to move his family and livestock to the Jordan Valley, while Abram settled in Canaan.
Hivites: The Hivites were one group of descendants of Canaan, son of Ham, according to the Table of Nations in Genesis 10
Jebusites: According to Genesis 10, the Jebusites were descended from Noah’s son Ham, through his son Canaan. They were one of the Amorite tribes who were placed under judgment by God for their wickedness (Genesis 15:16).
Moses questions himself and his abilities, or lack thereof, “who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” Seemingly unqualified, God calls him anyways.
Sometimes we feel we aren’t equipped so God can’t use us to do great things. But, if the Lord calls you, the Lord will equip you. As Paul puts it, “God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work” (2 Cor. 9:8). God doesn’t call us to something only to leave us to fend for ourselves. He is with us, he provides for us, and he enables us to finish the assignment that he places on our hearts. And that is what God was doing with Moses.
When Moses questions who he would say is sending him, God says to Moses, tell them, “I AM WHO I AM” (Exodus 3:14).
It is generally assumed that this is given to Moses as the full name of God. But perhaps it is rather a deep and mysterious statement of His nature. "I am that which I am." My nature, i.e., cannot be declared in words, cannot be conceived of by human thought. I exist in such sort that my whole inscrutable nature is implied in my existence. I exist, as nothing else does--necessarily, eternally, really. If I am to give myself a name expressive of my nature, so far as language can be, let me be called "I AM." (Ellicott)
God gives him the plan: assemble the elders of Israel, speak to Pharaoh, and “I will stretch out my hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders that I will perform among them. After that, he will let you go” (Exodus 3:20). God promises that He will be with Moses.
“Moses' success with the elders of Israel would be good. God, who, by his grace, inclines the heart, and opens the ear, could say beforehand, They shall hearken to thy voice; for he would make them willing in this day of power. As to Pharaoh, Moses is here told that petitions and persuasions, and humble complaints, would not prevail with him; nor a mighty hand stretched out in signs and wonders. But those will certainly be broken by the power of God's hand, who will not bow to the power of his word.” (Henry)
Tomorrow we continue our chronological Bible reading with chapters 4-6 of Exodus. I hope you’re learning a lot and enjoying it all at the same time. I know I am! Make sure to follow RF on Instagram, and join our FB Group to stay up to date for our next weekly zoom sessions!
REFERENCES
Cole, R. Alan Exodus, An Introduction and Commentary (London: Inter-Varsity Press, 1973)
Ellicott, Charles A Bible Commentary for English Readers: The four Gospels (ARKOSE Press, 2015)
Guzik, David Enduring Word Commentary (Enduringword.com)
Henry, Matthew Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible, Complete and Unabridged (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 1991)
Lucas, A Palestine Exploration Quarterly: The Number of Israelites at the Exodus (2013, p.164)
